The new anime version of "The Borrowers," titled "The Secret World of Arrietty" by screenwriter and "supervisor" Hayao Miyazaki, has the fascination with household "spirits," the same lovely color palette and attention to detail for which his films are famous.
But Miyazaki, director of "Ponyo," "Spirited Away" and "My Neighbor Totoro," didn't direct this Studio Ghibli film.
Perhaps that is why it lacks his sense of whimsy, that little sprinkling of Miyazki magic that the Japanese director has given his best work over the decades.
Mary Norton's oft-filmed 60-year-old novel is about the miniature people who live in the walls and below the floorboards of old houses, creatures who "borrow" what they need from the "human beans."
Every shopping trip is an expedition — nabbing one cube of sugar, that could last them months, a cracker that can be crushed to make Borrower bread.
They live by two rules. "Borrowers take only what they need," and once they've been seen, it's time to move. Those humans and their curiosity are nothing but trouble for Borrowers.
Arrietty (voiced by Bridgit Mendler of TV's "Good Luck Charlie" and "Wizards of Waverly Place") is a 13-year-old straining at the limits of her world.
She only knows her family, can only hope that there are other Borrowers, still surviving elsewhere. She sneaks outside , tempts the evil ravens who wouldn't mind gobbling her up as a snack — and is spied by a sickly human boy.
Shawn wants to help, and Arrietty wants to make contact. She sees no threat from this fellow her own age and no need to move, or even tell her parents . Naturally, they see things differently.
The gorgeous pastels of Studio Ghibli films and famous attention to detail are much in evidence in this Hiromasa Yonebayashi film. The Borrowers' world of re-purposed human detritus — pins and empty spools and discarded bolts, double sided tape, which allows father Pod to scale the heights of a kitchen counter to fetch sugar — is ingeniously realized.
Carol Burnett voices an old housekeeper who longs for the day when she can catch a real Borrower and be exonerated from those childhood charges that she was "crazy," one of the film's many lightly humorous touches.
And there are hints of the larger world of Borrowers beyond this garden cottage. Norton wrote more than one book in the series, after all.
But Miyazaki, who co-wrote the script, had nowhere to take it. Either the Borrowers leave, or they stay. They're either discovered and survive or captured and exposed.
There's no romance, no way to open the tale up, despite the fact that they're using that most fantastical film form, animation.
So as pretty as it is, this "Secret World" is too Earthbound by far.GO!
2011年8月25日星期四
Gone, but not forgotten: how Steve will remain on the job
Apple's newly-minted CEO has assured his troops that he will be able to keep the magic alive in the post-Steve Jobs era, as some pundits argue that Jobs will still be pulling the strings in the background as long as he's able.
Hours after Jobs resigned as chief executive and was voted in as Apple's new chairman, his replacement Tim Cook sent an email to staff to praise Jobs and reassure them of the company's future.
He described Apple as the "most innovative company in the world" and said joining Apple was the best decision he ever made. Jobs had been an "incredible leader and mentor" and Cook looked forward to his "ongoing guidance and inspiration as our Chairman".
"I want you to be confident that Apple is not going to change. I cherish and celebrate Apple's unique principles and values," said Cook, who described Apple as a "magical place".
"Steve built a company and culture that is unlike any other in the world and we are going to stay true to that - it is in our DNA. We are going to continue to make the best products in the world that delight our customers and make our employees incredibly proud of what they do."
Apple's shares recovered when the market opened the morning after the Jobs announcement, dropping about 1 per cent - the same decrease experienced by the entire market. This indicates that Jobs's resignation had long been factored into Apple's share price by investors and it was not a huge shock.
Veteran tech columnist Robert X. Cringely believes Jobs stepping down from the coal face coupled with the decision to bring the release of Walter Isaacson's authorised biography forward from March next year to November this year indicated the tech icon's health had taken a turn for the worse and he was now thinking about his legacy.
But the fact that Jobs took an executive chairman position - which will see him on the job every day - instead of bowing out from the company completely indicates he'll still be calling the shots as long as he's able.
Hours after Jobs resigned as chief executive and was voted in as Apple's new chairman, his replacement Tim Cook sent an email to staff to praise Jobs and reassure them of the company's future.
He described Apple as the "most innovative company in the world" and said joining Apple was the best decision he ever made. Jobs had been an "incredible leader and mentor" and Cook looked forward to his "ongoing guidance and inspiration as our Chairman".
"I want you to be confident that Apple is not going to change. I cherish and celebrate Apple's unique principles and values," said Cook, who described Apple as a "magical place".
"Steve built a company and culture that is unlike any other in the world and we are going to stay true to that - it is in our DNA. We are going to continue to make the best products in the world that delight our customers and make our employees incredibly proud of what they do."
Apple's shares recovered when the market opened the morning after the Jobs announcement, dropping about 1 per cent - the same decrease experienced by the entire market. This indicates that Jobs's resignation had long been factored into Apple's share price by investors and it was not a huge shock.
Veteran tech columnist Robert X. Cringely believes Jobs stepping down from the coal face coupled with the decision to bring the release of Walter Isaacson's authorised biography forward from March next year to November this year indicated the tech icon's health had taken a turn for the worse and he was now thinking about his legacy.
But the fact that Jobs took an executive chairman position - which will see him on the job every day - instead of bowing out from the company completely indicates he'll still be calling the shots as long as he's able.
2011年8月9日星期二
how in-ear monitors are made, from impressions to impressing
You probably don't think "top-tier audio" when you ponder the wonders of Colorado Springs, but sure enough, one of music's best kept secrets is headquartered there, camped out slyly in quite the nondescript building. A few months back, we were granted unprecedented access to Westone's lair (just a year and change after visiting Klipsch's HQ), and they even let a film crew in for good measure. The goal? To show you, the budding audiophile, exactly how a set of custom in-ear monitors are crafted, and what kind of work goes into creating one of the planet's most diminutive speaker arrangements. We've whipped up the entire experience there in the video above, but if you're looking for a more textual perspective, head on past the break.
Westone's certainly not the only headphone company that'll concoct a set specifically for your ears -- in fact, it doesn't even offer average consumers the option of strolling into its headquarters to get the process started unless you're a reputable artist. So, how does a simpleton go about getting a set of custom ES5s, or decide if it's even worth the coin? Glad you asked.
The vast majority of folks simply roll down to their local audiologist and get a set of impressions made. Easier said than done, but really, it's not nearly as bad as it probably sounds. Most docs charge between $50 and $100 to get it done, and it rarely takes over a half-hour from start to finish. As we found out, it's actually a fairly weird sensation -- prospective customers have a wad of silicon squeezed down their ear canal (after a stopper is situated at the far end, of course), and are then forced to remain motionless for two to three minutes
If all goes well, what'll emerge is a semi-hardened impression of your ear canal, with every nook and crannie perfectly replicated. From there, you'd have your doctor ship 'em off to your headphone company of choice. We'd recommend putting in an order ahead of time, of course, so they can immediately match up your ears to a to-be-built set of 'buds. That's where things get really interesting...
Building the monitors
It's hard to say if every single custom audio maker goes through the same painstaking process as Westone, but the sheer quantity of manual labor that goes into making a single set of ES5s -- as we found out -- is staggering. Once your molds hit the lab, a tedious workflow begins. They're shaved down, tossed into a cube of wax (that's where the negatives are created) and then preserved -- you know, in case you need a second pair after leaving 'em backstage in Reno. The negatives are then passed through a top secret lab, and after a fair bit of magic (read: we couldn't pry the specifics out of 'em), a couple of earbuds materialize. You're able to pick the color and cabling, and somewhere along the way, a number of drivers (five for the ES5) are popped into each monitor and wired up for action.
After you've got a workable product, round two begins. We witnessed no fewer than three folks take our monitors under the magnifying glass and shave off bits and pieces until the edges were perfectly smooth, and the fit was left perfect. Once the craftsman in charge deems 'em fit to move on, your gear is hooked up to a frequency analyzer in order to prove that it passes muster from an internals standpoint. We actually asked what happens to IEMs that fail this particular test, and we got a pretty straightforward answer: "they're ripped apart, rewired, and subjected to the entire assembly process once more."
After the hard work's complete, your cables of choice are strapped on, your serial numbers are etched in and a carrying case finds a new set of friends to hold. Oh, and then it's dropped off to FedEx, where you're encouraged to pray for safe travels.
Westone's certainly not the only headphone company that'll concoct a set specifically for your ears -- in fact, it doesn't even offer average consumers the option of strolling into its headquarters to get the process started unless you're a reputable artist. So, how does a simpleton go about getting a set of custom ES5s, or decide if it's even worth the coin? Glad you asked.
The vast majority of folks simply roll down to their local audiologist and get a set of impressions made. Easier said than done, but really, it's not nearly as bad as it probably sounds. Most docs charge between $50 and $100 to get it done, and it rarely takes over a half-hour from start to finish. As we found out, it's actually a fairly weird sensation -- prospective customers have a wad of silicon squeezed down their ear canal (after a stopper is situated at the far end, of course), and are then forced to remain motionless for two to three minutes
If all goes well, what'll emerge is a semi-hardened impression of your ear canal, with every nook and crannie perfectly replicated. From there, you'd have your doctor ship 'em off to your headphone company of choice. We'd recommend putting in an order ahead of time, of course, so they can immediately match up your ears to a to-be-built set of 'buds. That's where things get really interesting...
Building the monitors
It's hard to say if every single custom audio maker goes through the same painstaking process as Westone, but the sheer quantity of manual labor that goes into making a single set of ES5s -- as we found out -- is staggering. Once your molds hit the lab, a tedious workflow begins. They're shaved down, tossed into a cube of wax (that's where the negatives are created) and then preserved -- you know, in case you need a second pair after leaving 'em backstage in Reno. The negatives are then passed through a top secret lab, and after a fair bit of magic (read: we couldn't pry the specifics out of 'em), a couple of earbuds materialize. You're able to pick the color and cabling, and somewhere along the way, a number of drivers (five for the ES5) are popped into each monitor and wired up for action.
After you've got a workable product, round two begins. We witnessed no fewer than three folks take our monitors under the magnifying glass and shave off bits and pieces until the edges were perfectly smooth, and the fit was left perfect. Once the craftsman in charge deems 'em fit to move on, your gear is hooked up to a frequency analyzer in order to prove that it passes muster from an internals standpoint. We actually asked what happens to IEMs that fail this particular test, and we got a pretty straightforward answer: "they're ripped apart, rewired, and subjected to the entire assembly process once more."
After the hard work's complete, your cables of choice are strapped on, your serial numbers are etched in and a carrying case finds a new set of friends to hold. Oh, and then it's dropped off to FedEx, where you're encouraged to pray for safe travels.
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